Isn't LEGO an amazing toy? I find it so hard to resist the urge to buy more. Proof: at a yard sale a few months ago I bought 10 gallons of the stuff. Whoops. Now, where on earth does someone store all that?

There are two schools of LEGO storage, either keep blocks together in one big pile, or separate blocks into groups - by set, color, or type of block. When your child is younger you probably want to go with the "big pile" option (this will help with cleaning up, too!), but as kids get older they may want the LEGO to be sorted. Here are 5 storage possibilities for each option.

Top Row:1. LEGO storage bricks, that look like LEGO. These bricks can be stacked together as your collection grows. Available in a range of sizes from small to extra-large at the Container Store.

2. The amazing Lay-n-Go. A large sack that opens as a playing surface, and then can be drawn together again, making clean up easy. The sack itself could be hung from a sturdy wall hook.

3. What about setting aside a sturdy dresser drawer from an under-used dresser? This is what we decided upon at our house. The whole drawer is lifted out of the dresser before play time by Mom or Dad.

4. Adapt an old fruit crate or other vintage box. A vintage box like this one in Jack's Vintage Big Boy Room with casters added is perfect, transportable store option for LEGO.

Bottom Row:1. Apothecary/library card catalog drawers. These sought-after drawers (like this set on Etsy) would be great for LEGO storage, if you are lucky enough to find a set for a reasonable price. (For faux-vintage options, check out Land of Nod's Circulation Chest, or Target's Library Style Storage.)

2. A vintage soda crate like this one, also from Etsy, would work for a small collection, or a large collection of LEGO figurines. Be sure to sand any rough edges before using. h

5. For the LEGO sophisticate, store sets in original boxes. These could be kept on a bookshelf in the way one would store boardgames. While this may seem like an option only for much older kids, we use this at our house for the Duplo train set. We keep it in the kids' closet and take it down to play with on special occasions. Doing this makes our "big pile" LEGO collection smaller and easier to store.